Category: Crazy Buildings

You may already be familiar with this iconic building. Randy’s Donuts, located nearby the airport in Los Angeles, has been featured in numerous movies such as Iron Man 2 and Get Shorty. It was designed by Henry J. Goodwin and built in 1953. At that time, buildings that resemble an object, known as programmatic architecture,

The Las Lajas Sanctuary is a building of fairytale style and beauty. It was recently featured on Business Insider’s list of 30 architectural masterpieces everyone should see in their lifetime. Built in the Gothic Revival style it sits about 164 feet above a canyon not far from the border of Ecuador. Las Lajas measures about

Thanks to its greenroof, the California Academy of Sciences blends into the surrounding hills of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. This unusual architectural marvel was made using about 50,000 biodegradable trays of tree sap and coconut hulls. They contain the roof’s vegetation and allow roots to grow across trays which helps bind them together. The

30 St. Mary Axe or “The Gherkin” is a tower in London’s financial district. Completed in 2004, this unique building is home to offices, shops, and restaurants. Its conical shape and argyle pattern make it instantly recognizable and it has appeared in films, tv shows, and video games. It has received numerous awards including the

The Oslo Opera House looks like it would be great for sledding! Interestingly, this structure was designed to engage people from the public who are not necessarily opera enthusiasts. Its location in the waterfront area of downtown Oslo, Norway is a natural tourist destination. The ability to walk up the sloping sides to the roof

MahaNakhon or “great metropolis” is located in Bangkok, Thailand. It is 1,030 feet tall and contains 77 stories. The unusual design, by internationally renowned architect Ole Scheeren was created to blend the inner life of the building with the rest of the city. Another goal was to portray an irregular mountain landscape in a modern

Located in Dubai, the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest free-standing building in the world. It recently set another world record on New Year’s Eve 2017 for the largest laser light and sound show on a single structure. Standing at 2,716.5 feet tall (imagine 7.5 football fields placed end to end!) it contains 31,400 metric

The scene is an open-cut coal mine in Schöningen, Germany, the time is 1994. A discovery is made that totally changes the way scientists view our ancestors. Three spears were found. Radiocarbon dating confirmed them to be approximately 300,000 years old, making them the oldest hunting tools in the world. Before this discovery, it was

The Zaandam, located in the Netherlands, is a combination of about 70 different buildings — all in one. The 11-story hotel contains 160 rooms and is in the city center of Zaandam. Designed by Wilfried van Winden, he drew inspiration from the traditional green wooden houses in the area. The style is one original to

If you have seen the Lord of The Rings movies or read the books you are no doubt familiar with Hobbiton. Originally built in 1999 and later rebuilt in 2009, the Hobbit village is now a permanent attraction in Matamata, New Zealand. Visitors can tour the grounds, Hobbit holes, and even relax at the Green